Yellow. Dessie likes the color yellow.
Kai made a mental note of this as he painted the previously white wall. The sunny colored paint went on nicely, and he almost didn't need a second coat.
"Pass me those plastic tarps, would'ya?" asked Cole from across the room. Jay lifted the clear plastic and dragged it over to Cole, who was waiting impatiently.
"Hurry up!" said Cole. "My wall is sweating yellow paint and I don't want it on the floor!"
"I thought Dessie was in charge of this," huffed Jay, a sassy glance aimed at Cole,"and not this bossy loud guy." Cole stuck out his tongue and continued painting with the tarp safely tucked beneath his paint brush.
"Only she could go pick out the shelves," argued Kai proudly. He liked it that his girlfriend was so needed by his friends. "Only the official, graduated healer should decide on the SHELVES!"
"This whole 'Healing Cabin on the Bounty' thing is an awesome idea," said Cole, taking a swipe at the blue ninja's back with his brush. "And that's why I am making sure it gets done right!"
"Cole!" snapped Jay, realizing his back had a large, wet, yellow stain on it. "I liked this shirt!"
"Then why did you wear it to paint in?" asked Zane from where he sat, playing the radio. "Everyone knows you wear clothes you don't like when you are - "
"- trying to show off to Nya," interrupted Kai, who couldn't miss the opportunity to make a jibe at Jay.
"Okay, very funny," said Jay, scrunching his freckled nose at Kai. "You think you are so above me because you've already proposed and came back from the dead to do it! Well some relationships need more time."
"Don't let it get stale," said Cole. "Wait too long and Nya will start getting bored."
"When are you going to get serious about Nya anyway?" asked Kai, suddenly taking interest. "I mean, you've been together since we were sixteen. It's been like four years already! Most relationships outside of being married don't last much longer than that. Besides, I would advise nearly dying from falling out of a haunted hospital before proposing."
Jay opened his mouth to defend himself when suddenly there was a loud crash and a gale of laughter that sounded like Dessie and Nya. "What was that?!" demanded Cole, always a little overprotective of Dessie.
"We're okay," came Dessie's giggle down the hall. The four young men rushed out of the room and came upon the sight of Nya and Dessie trapped under a pile of groceries, shelves, and other parcels.
"You could have texted and said you needed help," Kai chided his love, lifting the heavy shelves off of her. She bubbled with laughter and said, "But your phone is always dead!"
"But his phone - " wheezed Nya pointing at Kai, and they plunged into a fit of silly giggles all over again, Dessie slapping the floor in mirth, and Nya wiping tears of laughter from her scrunched eyes.
"Okay, what happened to you two?" asked Cole, helping Dessie to her feet as the other things were lifted and carried away to their proper places in the kitchen. Dessie hiccuped as she always did when she laughed too much, and Nya had to answer. "We just couldn't help it," she said. "We were talking about something Ms. Take did when Dessie took the test, and Dessie made this face - " and Nya was lost in peals of laughter again.
"They worked themselves up," said Kai, picking Dessie up in his arms. She squeaked, then gave him a peck on the cheek. "Let's take a break anyway. These girls need to breathe," he added with such an exaggerated face that the two gigglers lost it again and had to be made to rest on the couch for a moment in order to stop the ridiculous laughing.
Riing!
"Haha!" Dessie laughed, her unique gray-green eyes dancing. She always laughed when a phone rang.
"Uh, Jay," said Kai, "I think that's you."
"Who makes calls these days?" Demanded Jay, pulling out his phone. "I didn't even recognize my ringtone cause I never use it!"
"Our boss makes phone calls," stated Zane, and everyone giggled at Jay's serious face as he answered the call from Cyrus Borg.
Jay answered quickly. "Jay here."
Dessie giggled and elbowed Kai. "Jay here," she mimicked in a nasal voice. Kai giggled and elbowed back. "More like 'nerd here'."
They all waited as Jay said things like "wow" and "Yeah" over and over again. After a few minutes, Jay said "I'll tell 'em! Thanks Borg - see you in a bit."
He turned to Zane. "Gotta go bro - we are needed at the plant."
Zane sighed. "I suppose."
"Dude, we get to go to work with Borg again - aren't you just a little excited?"
"I don't have the same idolization for him as you do."
"Well, I'm pretty sure I heard P.I.X.A.L. in the backround…" Jay let the thought trail off.
Zane was at the door, ready to go. Everyone smiled - Zane was smitten with the young robot belonging to Cyrus Borg.
"Do you have to go?" asked Nya softly. The sad note in her voice seized Jay, and he whirled around and kissed her on the cheek. "I'll be back very very soon," he said. "I promise."
"Aw," whined Dessie. "But I needed Zane to help me organize."
"And to play the music!" Cole. "We still don't have internet."
"WE ARE GOING TO WORK," shouted Jay, and shut the door behind them.
Ninjago city was growing again. This time, bigger and better. But bigger meant that more power was needed for the city and the people inside. Cyrus Borg, inventor and overall mechanical genius, was working with Jay and Zane to power and configure a new power plant. Borg was disabled physically, but what he lacked in leg strength he had in brains. Right now he was working on the generators, and Jay was in heaven, working with his childhood idol. Zane wasn't doing badly either - Borg had his very own daughter named P.I.X.A.L., and Zane had very strong robotic feelings for her.
Another associate of Borg's was Mike Soro. He was a man that had worked with Cyrus for years, and was working here with him too. He was a short, fat man who Zane and Jay disliked very much. Jay thought often about why - mostly because he wasn't sure. His attitude? It was sour, but no more. His face? It was fat, but that wasn't something to be held against him. Maybe it was just his aura? Jay always felt weird and clammy when he was around. Maybe it was the way he talked to Zane. Jay was sure it was that one - Soro asked the most complicated and personal questions of Zane. When they were in the middle of working, no less! It drove everyone nuts.
Even today, as they worked the generators, the questions just kept coming. Jay did his best to focus on giving power to the generators and ignore the whiny voice of Mike Soro as he asked for the umpteenth time -
"Zane, what kind of power source do you have? I have been studying potential elements it could be made of, and - "
"Mr. Soro," came a clear, soft voice. Jay thanked the heavens - it was P.I.X.A.L., stepping in to save her Zane.
"I am sorry to interrupt," She said, her large, robotic green eyes glowing slightly, showing her alertness. "But Zane is working very hard to steady the temperature of this generator and keep it from overheating. Please save your questions for another time."
"But since his inventor died, I wondered if I might have a look at his blueprints," he said. "I would love to just have a little look, not long - "
P.I.X.A.L.'s eyes turned red, and a high pitched whine came from somewhere inside of her as something activated. Her eyes grew brighter, and Soro quickly excused himself - last week she had zapped him with her eyes because of too many questions, and she was obviously prepared to zap him again.
"Point for P.I.X.A.L.," Jay observed. "Um, how are you doing, Zane?"
"These generators are stable," came his voice.
"No I meant…well…Soro was kind of a jerk about your dad, so I…I thought maybe you might be a little upset."
"I was merely annoyed," said Zane. "I have accepted the fact that he will never understand what my father really meant to me, as he cannot accept that in reality I am as human as he is."
"Maybe even a little more," muttered Borg darkly under his breath.
"Whoa," said Jay, his drama senses tingling. "I thought he was your partner. Like, aren't you guys besties?"
"Perhaps not 'besties'," said Borg. He was laying down underneath a generator, adjusting some wires.
"Master Borg and Mr. Soro rarely see eye to eye," said P.I.X.A.L. softly. "He is a man who lacks respect for anyone or anything. Nothing is sacred or personal to him, and he will never accept our artificial intelligence." She looked at Zane and smiled.
"Why don't you two get married?" asked Jay with a laugh, half to himself. "You two are perfect for each other."
"I suppose we could," said Zane thoughtfully. "Marriage had never occurred to me."
"It…it did to me," said P.I.X.A.L. softly. "However, I wasn't sure you would want it."
"Wait," said Jay, peeking around the corner of a generator. "What? You guys are talking about marriage now?"
"I have always liked the day of August 4th," said P.I.X.A.L.
"And your father can perform the ceremony," said Zane.
"Wait!" cried Jay, running over to intervene. "Zane Zane Zane - you have to ask."
"Ask for what?"
"For her hand in marriage! You also need to ask her dad if it's ok."
Borg gave a thumbs up from underneath the generator.
P.I.X.A.L. looked up at Zane, large eyes giving off a soft green light. Her white hair and artificial skin were smooth, and her mouth parted gently in a smile. Zane smiled back. "Would you?" He asked.
"With all my generator," she said with a wink.
"Zane!" cried Jay, jubilant. "You are getting married! Whoa," he suddenly said, his words sinking in. "You are getting married! We have to tell everyone! We have to plan the bridal shower and - "
"And that's that," said Borg, and Pixal helped him back into his wheelchair. "My little robot is getting married."
He smiled and said, "You boys are free to go home now; the generators are stable and you can take the day off tomorrow."
"Nya will love that," said Jay with a grin. "Thanks Mr. Borg!"
Jay and Zane walked out of the building laughing and excitedly talking. A wedding! What next?
"Zane, get some pizza to celebrate," said Jay suddenly with a grin. "I'll grab some ice cream on the way home from Todashki's."
They parted ways. Zane walked a little ways, then turned back. Jay was walking towards the street with Todashki's Ice Cream Parlor. His red hair shining bright in the setting sun, shoulders squared and confident. For a moment, Zane felt a chill come over him. As if something was going to happen. But it wasn't strong, and as Jay continued walking it faded away. Zane shrugged to himself and turned to focus on buying the pizza. Maybe it was nothing.
()
"Hey! Walker, wait up!"
Jay halted. Mike Soro, round face red and puffing from running, stopped and nearly fell to his knees from lack of exercise. "Jay, come quickly!" he panted. "The machine - it's gonna blow if we don't do something fast!"
Jay's face turned white. He started running back towards the building. "Tell me what's wrong!" he shouted as Mike tried to follow him.
"We have to get to station three," said Mike. "The main generator is malfunctioning internally."
"But that generator is brand new," said Jay.
"Borg must have missed something," was all Mike said.
That's hardly likely, thought Jay, but he said nothing. This problem needed to be taken care of - immediately.
They ran down the hall.
"The lights aren't going off," said Jay.
"I shut down the alarm system so you could focus," said Mike.
Strange.
Jay rushed into the room with the faulty generator. He threw his coat to the ground and slid to a halt next to it.
The green light was steady. It was purring like a kitten. Jay's eyebrows furrowed. "What…?!"
The door slammed behind him. Jay stiffened.
Trap.
"What…what are you doing?" he asked, turning around to look at Soro. "Why is the generator fine? And are you really Mike Soro?"
Soro grinned. "Have you ever looked closely at Zane's power source?"
Jay moaned. "Dude, it's been a long day. Can you skip the elaborate back story and just tell me a summary?"
Soro sighed. "Okay fine. Zane's inventor made another power source JUST like Zane's. But this one is better - more modern with some different advantages. Every night Zane has to recharge, right? Well this one generates it's own power. Problem is, I can't break into it."
"Wait, how did you get this power?" demanded Jay. "It should have been given to Zane after his dad died."
"Let's just say to get ahead in the modern world, you need to be sneaky. The fact is, it doesn't matter," said Soro with a sneer. "I want to use it to build an army."
"Wow. Somebody has goals," said Jay. "And how are you going to build an entire army from one little generator?"
"It doesn't matter," said Soro irritably. "Because I can't get into it. So I was thinking, 'why should I use this little bitty thing when I know someone who could power all of Ninjago?'"
"Um," said Jay with a gulp. "That would probably kill me. I know I'm the Master of Lightning, but even Master's have days off!"
"I am going to need someone's help," protested Soro mildly.
"And I would never agreed to that," said Jay. "Us ninja are totally going to stop you."
"Wrong," said Soro dangerously. "You are going to help me wether you want to or not."
And out of no where, without warning, Jay was pinned down. He cried out in surprise as his body was slammed into the ground.
"Jay Walker, meet Winston 23," said Soro grinning.
Jay turned his head as far as he could. A large robot was pinning him down - a large, scary looking robot. Blue and gray metal armor, small, camera eyes, and a menacing amount of strength.
"He's made with a special metal," said Soro proudly. "You can't fight him - his metal armor takes away your powers."
Just like on Chen's Island, thought Jay. He felt the familiar draining effect, and moaned.
"Stop struggling," said Soro. "If you just agree to my terms and policies you won't have to go through anything awful."
"Oh yeah? And why would I agree to help you?" snarled Jay. This guy is messed up on the inside, he thought.
"Because," said Soro. "Your life - or rather all of Ninjago - depends on it. If you don't help me, then I will destroy you from the inside out. If you help me, you can at least save some of the city. The people will listen to you."
"They will be afraid of me, you mean," said Jay, narrowing his eyes.
"Call it what you will," said Soro. "You can't change the name of torture." He held up a drill.
Jay gave a shuddering breath. Sorry Nya. Looks like I can't marry you for a little while longer.
"There is another name for torture," said Jay, inner strength pumping through his veins. "Sacrifice. Strength. Will." He looked at Soro with a defiant smirk. "My choice."
"Wow," said Soro, mildly surprised. He turned on the drill. "You are a lot more poetic than I thought."
()
They all knew something was wrong when they couldn't get a hold of him. After pacing for two hours straight, Cole took charge and said, "We can't be weak for tomorrow. Let's take shifts."
Nya wanted the first one. After that, even though Zane came and tried to tell her that he was fully capable of taking the next shift alone, she still waited up for Jay. After that Cole didn't even try to move her when he saw her defiant expression. And so all night, through every single shift, Nya waited through the night for Jay.
The next morning at sunrise, Kai walked out for his shift. Nya sat, staring out the window, head resting in the palm of her hand. He sighed and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Nya, you should have slept."
"No." Her soft voice was still hard. "Something has happened. I know it. He would never just stay out all night like that."
Kai nodded. "Let me get the others."
He didn't have to. There was a sudden outburst of shouting and everyone ran into the living room. Zane was shouting something about the TV, and Dessie ran out in her pjs with her healing bag in her hand.
"What's going on?" cried Kai, startled and really not ready for anything loud this early in the morning.
Zane didn't answer but only pointed to the screen. The news for the day was showing, but this time a breaking-news-story was flashing with a serious message.
"At 5 a.m. this morning," said the female broadcaster, somewhat pale, "every social media user in the five mile radius of Char Street received a message that a show is going to be held in Memorial Park, at exactly 7 a.m. this morning. A show that is supposed to announce the new ruler of Ninjago."
The ninja started, dumbfounded.
"We didn't have internet," whispered Cole.
"A stage seems to be waiting for us in that very park," said the broadcaster, "and the main piece of information that we have right now is that this person claims to have one of the ninja - the Master of Lightning, otherwise known as Jay Walker." She looked down, biting her lip. "We all have a lot of questions right now."
The door to the Bounty living room slammed shut as everyone mounted their bikes. Even Dessie and Nya had been given bikes now - everyone was supposed to be able to get going quickly, and while a car was more protection, bikes had more speed and flexibility.
Nya rode behind Zane and in front of Dessie. They drove forward in a line, racing for Memorial Park. As they raced along, passing cars and darting in and out of traffic, Nya's heart raced in fear. Please be ok, she thought to Jay. And please let us get there in time.
()
People lined the park. It was full of people, and the ninja carefully and quietly mixed themselves into the crowd.
"Can you guys hear me?"
Cole's voice reached all of their ears through the special com links that Zane and Jay had made. They were almost invisible to the naked eye, and perfect for missions like this. Nya sighed and said, "Samurai here."
"Full Fire here." Kai's voice was a little smug. He'd picked that com-name himself.
"Snowman, here." Zane's voice came on, and it was so serious that everyone chuckled a little. Jay had picked that name.
"Sunshine, here," said Dessie. Cole had picked that one.
"Here's the plan," said Cole. "Dessie, get ready. Be ready to jump in and grab Jay - we don't know what condition he's in."
Nya bit her lip and tried not to let her imagination run away with her.
"Kai, get near the front. I think that's where the action will be."
"By the stage?" asked Kai. The stage in the middle of the park was erect and at that moment a truck was parking next to it.
"No, by the porte-potties!" said Cole sarcastically. They all heard Kai mutter something unintelligible but obviously angsty under his breath, and then Cole continued. "Zane, get in the middle. Stay by the people - make sure nothing happens to them."
"What about me?" asked Nya.
Silence.
"Cole?"
"You can be in the front with Kai," said Cole, with a sigh. "But listen to me: I know he's your boyfriend and he would do ANYTHING for you, but trust your head in this one, ok? Be careful, and don't get into unnecessary trouble."
"Thanks Cole," she said softly, and pushed her way to the front.
Kai was next to her in a moment. His hair was pulled over his eyes, and his hood on his hoodie was up. He looked so punk that she giggled a little. He snorted at her and said, "You should see yourself, blondie."
She stopped laughing. She'd forgotten about the wig.
They had all disguised themselves, just in case this was an attack on the ninja. Nya looked up at the stage. Where are you? she thought, eyes darting through the crowd. Who are you? And why have you taken Jay?
"Ahem…"
The crowd hushed. Out of no where, a mic had been used.
"Is…is this thing on?" came a nasal voice.
"It's on!" Cole's impatient voice came from somewhere in the crowd. "What do you want with us?!"
The crowd murmured in agreement. Everyone was a little bit frightened.
Onto the stage stepped someone that Nya had never seen before. A fat little man, sweating, holding the microphone in his left hand, and a remote control in the right. His eyes darted around, and he said in the same nasally voice, "I am Mike Soro."
Mike Soro! Nya's eyes widened. He and Jay worked together! He must be behind this, Nya decided, and her eyes narrowed.
"And I," the fat man continued, "am here to tell you how things will be from now on."
"And why would we ever listen to you?!" shouted Kai. "You're just a man with a microphone!"
"And a wicked ninja," said Soro, and his face drastically changed from nervous to wickedly delighted.
The crowd stilled. "'Ninja'?" the whisper passed through the crowd. "What does he mean, 'ninja'?"
"Master of Lightning," called Soro. "Come oooouuuuuuut."
The crowd gasped in surprise - one of their very own ninja?
Out of the shadows, where no one had even thought to look, stepped a strange thing.
He was all metal. Well, mostly. His legs were armored with heavy plates of it. He wore a grey tunic with faded, tattered blue edging. His arms were encased in large, metal sheets of armor, and his dark blue cloak swirled about his legs. Only a part of his face could be seen; a large, metal mask with some sort of camera was covering his right eye and side of his head.
The crowd erupted in fury. Ninjago loved it's ninja, and this was an outrage. They had been betrayed!
"Everyone!" came Dessie's urgent cry in the comlink. "He is in really delicate shape. Make no mistake - Jay has only one eye now. That helmet is embedded into his head!"
Nya felt sick. Jay, what has he done to you?!